Dear Tsadik,
This piece belongs to my late grandfather who lived in Berlin before the war. I’ve included the silver hallmarks located on the back to help you approximate the date and its actual value. The lions resting on a pedestal with the Ten Commandments held by a pair of ground lions are stunning. I hope this is not a fake. Thank you.
Ron Nagel
Los Angeles, CA
Dear Ron,
Your silver Chanukah menorah is probably the most well-known type of all the silver chanukiot made in 20th-century Germany, as it was produced in vast quantities by a multitude of silversmiths from about 1900 to 1930, notably those working in the cities of Berlin and Hanau. The row of eight fully formed lions with their mouths open for wicks to be placed in is something that instantly grabs anyone’s attention when viewing it in person for the first time.
Your plea of “I hope this is not a fake” is not to be mocked as paranoia, but rather applauded as being appropriately cautious, as the regular readers of this monthly column can attest to my having to be the bearer of bad news on multiple occasions to readers writing in about what they assumed was an authentic piece of antique Judaica, but which in reality revealed itself to be either a modern-day copy or an outright forgery. The existence of the former is somewhat understandable, but the latter’s entire purpose of being created was to fool and hoodwink for monetary gain.
Your example is complete with both the servant light and oil jug, and bears hallmarks that typify those of silversmiths operating in Hanau. Identical examples of your chanukiah regularly appear at auction houses across the United States, and a quick search reveals prices at auctions in the last five years that realized figures between $2,000 and $3,000. Because of the beautiful design of this chanukiah, in a retail setting expect to pay at least twice those amounts.
Of note: As this is a Chanukah menorah made in Germany, it is made of 80% silver, and is appropriately hallmarked as such with the number 800, which stands for that percentage. This is in contrast to the American and British standard of silver, which is 92.5%, better known as sterling, and pieces made in those countries are often hallmarked “925” or “Sterling.” I’m mentioning this because beginning in the 1950s in Hungary, copies of this chanukiah were being made for export, and often stamped with what appear to be pre-war German silver hallmarks, including an “800.” However, those Hungarian-made pieces – and all copies made in New York and elsewhere – were not made of 80% silver, but of sterling silver, which is 92.5%.
There’s a very easy way for anyone to determine if they own an authentic, pre-war German example of this chanukiah, or if what they have is a post-war copy: Test the silver content using a few drops of nitric acid. If the acid turns red, the piece is made of 92.5% silver content, or higher. If the acid turns green or brown, the silver content is between 70% and 89%. Any jewelry store would be happy to do this acid test for you at a charge of $5 or $10, or even for free.
Best,
Tsadik
Dear Tsadik,
I always enjoy your column. Can you please assess this item? Many years ago my friend who lives in South Florida found it at a thrift shop, and she then gave it to me as a gift. I think it’s a Yemenite wedding ring. It has the “925” imprint inside the ring part. Can you please tell me when and where it was made and its monetary value? Thank you.
Yocheved
Baltimore, MD
Dear Yocheved,
Thank you for your compliment! Architectural rings – that is, rings with towers and miniature buildings – have been found from as far back as 1,500 years ago. Of all the architectural rings known in both museum and private collections, only four have been positively identified as being Jewish, for inside the band of those rings they reveal an engraved inscription in Hebrew, “Mazel Tov.” All four of these rings have been dated to 14th-century Germany and feature a small structure at the top. The building seen on these rings is said to commemorate either the house of the newlyweds, the synagogue, or the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in the year 70 CE. The image of the Beit HaMikdash was used metaphorically to liken Jewish marriage to the performative rebuilding of this sacred center of Judaism. Noted scholar Maria Stürzebecher, who discusses Jewish wedding rings in a 2022 academic journal, writes “The wedding can be interpreted as a symbolic rebuilding of the destroyed Temple, symbolized by the design of the wedding rings in the form of small temples.”
Since the 19th century, European antique dealers have been offering gold architectural rings with “Mazel Tov” displayed somewhere on the band, and many of those dealers professed them to be very old antiques. However, it’s been proven that all those examples were forgeries, made by very talented jewelers.
Circling back to your ring made of silver, which features a two-tiered design of stonework with large cast Hebrew words applied to them stating “Mazel Tov,” “The Voice of Joy,” and “Jerusalem,” it is a piece that was made specifically for the tourist trade in Israel sometime after 1985. The stonework design references the Western Wall, which is why the word Jerusalem is featured on the ring. I have seen many other examples identical to your ring over the years, and I’ve never heard of a Jewish woman actually using this type of ring for her wedding.
These rings appear from time to time in small auction houses that specialize in selling the entire contents of estates, and typically sell in the range of between $150 and $350. In a retail setting, I’ve seen dealers price examples of your ring in the $500-$700 range, but I’ve never seen one actually sell for that amount, for if you think about it, who is the intended audience for this ring that would wear it? Certainly not any Jewish woman that I’ve ever met! For all intents and purposes, it’s a lovely tchotchke, something to enjoy looking at on a shelf.
While your ring is obviously a modern-made item, a nefarious type of forgery/fantasy piece has been around for at least the last 50 years, which are silver architectural wedding rings featuring various Hebrew inscriptions and Judaic motifs. The first type is made of rather thin silver that has been clumsily soldered together, and may have applied Stars of David or poorly engraved Hebrew words, and usually bears stamped “hallmarks” purporting to be Russian, complete with dates of the 1880s or 1890s. The second type is made of a thicker silver that is put together in a more competent manner than the aforementioned example; this type tends to have engraved Hebrew wording of a surprisingly high standard. These rings are often claimed by the dealer or auction house offering them to be a prized antique heirloom of Jews hailing from North Africa, which of course, they are not. Caveat emptor!
Best,
Tsadik
